Yesterday was by far the best day I have had in a while. It started with another wonderful lesson with my clarinet teacher, James Fry (someone asked me his name). Every time I take a lesson with him, I feel like he is able to point out things that I didn't even know you could consider. In one way, it's terrifying but in another absolutely fantastic. We can spend most of the lesson on less than one page of music and it's not that he's being anal or repetitive or boring, it's just that there are so many nuances to look at. It's very exciting for me.
After a short break (for lunch), it was off to my communications class where my professor held up the draft I had given her last class and said "I have one draft. It was great. I need more drafts." Can you say brownie points? But she handed my draft back with a lot of really helpful comments. And it's not as bad as I thought, it just needs a bit of adjustment. So I was very relieved. Now I just have to write that pesky management essay that's been giving me so much trouble... Also, after class one of my classmates approached me to ask for help with the assignment. Who woulda thunk it? So I made a new friend. His English wasn't fantastic (I think he was from China?) so a lot of our conversation went in circles because we were having trouble understanding each other. But it was really cool to get to talk to someone different. Not a music student or a study abroad student, which is who I generally hang out with. He was very nice. I have already forgotten his name (I've been having trouble with that lately) but I'll ask again next class.
After that it was off to the lunch-time concert. The music school hosts these every Friday and they feature school of music students rather than professors or guest artists or some such. Two of my friends from reed class performed and they were both awesome. There was also a tuba quartet, which I thought was hilarious. A tuba quartet consists of two euphoniums and two tubas. They were really good, I was just amused because it had to be the nerdiest musical gathering I have ever seen. First, before they play, they all have to do the ritual blow-through-the-horn-to-make-sure-there's-no-spit thing. Then, as they're playing it just struck me as very funny. I can't exactly describe why. There was just a very distinct attitude about them. Kind of like, "That's right, we're playing our low brass instruments and, yeah, we're totally into it." I thought it was funny. You probably had to be there and now I'm rambling. So moving on...
After the concert, I went to practice for a bit before reed class where I finally performed. I was super nervous. I've been feeling a lot of pressure on that point because everyone has been expecting me to be a prodigy or something because I am from the States. So getting up and playing for them was a bit scary. I totally flubbed up a lot of the piece because of my nerves. Drat. I thought I was getting better with my performance anxiety but I think in realtiy, I just got used to the Adrian audience that I always play for. But I got some really helpful comments and I feel like I won't feel as stressed next time I performance because everyone knows how I sound now. And I got compliments on my tone, which made me feel very good about myself. James took the class today, which means I basically got another lesson, only with people watching. So all that was actually quite fun.
Afterwards, I headed to the Sky Tower for dinner with my friends. The sky tower is the tallest tower in the southern hemisphere. It has a great view of Auckland and the bay surrounding it. The restaurant at the top rotates 360 degrees every hour. And the food was amazing. It was a bit fancier than what we usually do and it was fun to see everyone kind of dressed up for an event. When you're living in the middle of the city, it's easy to forget how beautiful this place is. But from up high, you can see the harbour around the city and the surrounding islands, hills, and other various scenery and you remember "Oh yeah, this place is amazingly beautiful. I almost forgot we were in the beauty queen of countries." It was great.
After that, we just hung out in Chris's room for the evening. We were going to go out but we got to talking and no one really felt like going anywhere. We ended up playing this game called hotseat. This is where one person is in the "hotseat" and everyone in the room gets to ask them a question. It can get a little immature at times but you also learn a lot about one another. It actually led to some really intense conversation at a few points. Do you believe in true love? turned into a huge debate about the difference between true love and fate. What are you most proud of in your life? What is the thing that is most important for you to do in your life? That one actually had a lot of interesting and unexpected awnsers. And someone asked me what my favorite thing about music is. That led to about 20 minutes of talking from me, which was weird because I don't usually talk that much. Anywho... It was one of those evenings when I realized exactly how close I am getting to these people. I can't imagine what it's going to be like when we all go back to our seperate homes in the States. And the hard part is, I don't think I will ever be able to describe what this group of people is like. It's impossible to describe. I can single out moments that just capture the group pefectly but it wouldn't make sense to anyone else. But I love it.
Yesterday was such a great day because I just feel like I'm getting out of my funk. I was really sad earlier this week because I thought that I might not get to go on our fall break trip because of my foot. And Jordan said that he thought I was focusing too much on travelling. That's not all I'm here for. And he's right. So I've been thinking a lot lately about why I came here and what it is to me that I am here and what I'm trying to learn or achieve. I don't really have any awnsers yet. However, I feel like just considering all of these things is helping me. So... That's my few cents for the day. I really do have to go write that essay that I keep talking about. Wish me luck.
Peace.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Easter Break
So I have a two week break coming up in a bit. My friends and I are planning a tour of the South Island. I am super excited. Here's a look at our possible itinerary.
Saturday: Fly to Christchurch, drive to Franz Joseph. Possible stop in Arthur's Pass National Park for a tramp.
Sunday: Hike Franz Joseph (that's a glacier), drive to Wanaka
Monday: Explore Wanaka. There's a national park and a lake. Great scenery, of course. Drive to Queenstown.
Tuesday: Explore Queenstown. Part of the group might be doing the highest bungee jump in the world (134 metres). The wussy part of the group (myself included) will be watching or possibly going for a Lord of the Rings tour. Yay nerdiness!
Wednesday: Drive to Milford Sound, explore thereabouts. Great tramping in that area.
Thursday: Explore Milford Sound a bit more, drive to Te Anau, explore around there. Pretty lake, more good tramping. (For those who don't know, that's basically what New Zealand is... good tramping.)
Friday: Drive back to Queenstown, do some more stuff there
Saturday: Drive to Christchurch. Long day of driving but incredible scenery. We might stop off in Dunedin if we decide there's anything in particular we want to see.
Sunday-Tuesday: Explore Christchurch and possible surrounding areas. Maybe go to Nelson, which is supposed to be beautiful. We haven't really planned this part but that's okay. More room for flexibility.
Wednesday: Fly back to Auckland, do laundry and rest.
After that, we're considering going to Taupo for a couple days. Taupo is on the North Island, about 3-4 hours south of Auckland. That's right near Mt. Doom (yes, from LOTR). We would definitely hike that. It's supposed to be an all-day thing. That's also where the best skydiving goes down. I would totally go sky diving. Yes, I would jump out of a plane but not off a platform attached to a string. I'm not crazy. Sky diving is actually a lot less scary than bungy jumping and much safer. Maybe someday I will get up the guts to go bungy jumping but I don't think it's going to be this trip.
Anyhow. I'm super super excited. I was worried that I wasn't going to get to go on this trip due to the problems with my foot but it looks like it is going to work out and I'm so happy. Today was the greatest day ever when I found out from the doctor that I could afford to go on this trip. I'm not sure that I've ever been so excited for something. Oh, and I might be driving at some point during the trip. Left side of the road. Yay adventure. I will take a million pictures and post them all to make everyone super jealous. In the meantime, I should go write that essay for management...
Peace.
Saturday: Fly to Christchurch, drive to Franz Joseph. Possible stop in Arthur's Pass National Park for a tramp.
Sunday: Hike Franz Joseph (that's a glacier), drive to Wanaka
Monday: Explore Wanaka. There's a national park and a lake. Great scenery, of course. Drive to Queenstown.
Tuesday: Explore Queenstown. Part of the group might be doing the highest bungee jump in the world (134 metres). The wussy part of the group (myself included) will be watching or possibly going for a Lord of the Rings tour. Yay nerdiness!
Wednesday: Drive to Milford Sound, explore thereabouts. Great tramping in that area.
Thursday: Explore Milford Sound a bit more, drive to Te Anau, explore around there. Pretty lake, more good tramping. (For those who don't know, that's basically what New Zealand is... good tramping.)
Friday: Drive back to Queenstown, do some more stuff there
Saturday: Drive to Christchurch. Long day of driving but incredible scenery. We might stop off in Dunedin if we decide there's anything in particular we want to see.
Sunday-Tuesday: Explore Christchurch and possible surrounding areas. Maybe go to Nelson, which is supposed to be beautiful. We haven't really planned this part but that's okay. More room for flexibility.
Wednesday: Fly back to Auckland, do laundry and rest.
After that, we're considering going to Taupo for a couple days. Taupo is on the North Island, about 3-4 hours south of Auckland. That's right near Mt. Doom (yes, from LOTR). We would definitely hike that. It's supposed to be an all-day thing. That's also where the best skydiving goes down. I would totally go sky diving. Yes, I would jump out of a plane but not off a platform attached to a string. I'm not crazy. Sky diving is actually a lot less scary than bungy jumping and much safer. Maybe someday I will get up the guts to go bungy jumping but I don't think it's going to be this trip.
Anyhow. I'm super super excited. I was worried that I wasn't going to get to go on this trip due to the problems with my foot but it looks like it is going to work out and I'm so happy. Today was the greatest day ever when I found out from the doctor that I could afford to go on this trip. I'm not sure that I've ever been so excited for something. Oh, and I might be driving at some point during the trip. Left side of the road. Yay adventure. I will take a million pictures and post them all to make everyone super jealous. In the meantime, I should go write that essay for management...
Peace.
Monday, March 23, 2009
The Foot
A small laceration on the foot, no stitches needed. Sounds easy to deal with, right? Wrong. Not in Pam-land. The issue with my foot in quickly turning into an epic pain in the butt... Or foot, I suppose. I am now on crutches... Again. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, twice in one year. That is a record even for me. Here's the story.
Last week at some point I started noticing some numbness in a few of my toes and shooting pains when I move certain ways that shouldn't be there. They're in a totally different area of my foot than where my laceration is. I decided that that's not normal and should be checked out. So I gimp my way down to the student health center at the University of Auckland (love the free clinic), only to find out that I have missed the emergency clinic hours and have to wait until Monday. (This is on Friday.) So this morning, I head back to the health center. After my foot being looked at by a nurse, a doctor, and discussed by phone with another doctor and an orthopedist, no one has any idea what is wrong with me.
So I have to go to another doctor later this week. In the mean time, however, they don't want me to put any weight on my foot. I had two option. 1) Crutches. 2) Heel-walking, which is basically what it sounds like... Only putting weight on your heel. Unfortunately, heel-walking requires you to flex your foot, which for me causes shooting pains. I was just going to suck it up and walk but by the afternoon, I wasn't really into it. Plus, my dad convinced me that if it hurts, I probably shouldn't do that. It would be very bad if I messed up my foot long-term.
The thing that sounds like the most likely possibility is that there is a shard of glass that is still in my foot that has migrated and is now hitting a nerve, resulting in numbness and pain. I almost hope that this is the case because, if it is, then at least the way forward is clear (remove the glass). If not, we still don't know what's wrong with my foot.
For the moment, I've now had to cancel plans for the second weekend in a row. I was supposed to participate in a volunteer weekend planting trees and such. So I am not in a fantastic mood about all this. Plus the fact that I strongly dislike crutches. They suck. Anyone who's ever been on them for even a few days knows what I mean. The only advantage to the situation is that now I have an extra weekend to get my essays in order.
My assignments are creeping up on me very quickly. I'm under way with both, but another couple days of concentrated work will definitely be helpful. I spent a good deal of this past weekend researching and stuff. I got acquainted with the UoA library this weekend. It is huge. There is a plethora of resources available to students here. It's amazing. First off, tons and tons of database access. More databases than I know what to do with. Then there are the physical books, periodicals, and other resources that the library actually owns. It's extremely extensive. I think it's cool because I have discovered that if there is any type of place that I can manuever in, it is a library. It doesn't matter where I am, I can figure it out. I think I can thank Mom for that one.
I also got to go to a recital this weekend. It was a postgraduate student who I didn't know but I didn't have anything in particular to do and it was free, so I went. I was extremely happy that I did. It was a violin recital, about an hour and a half long and it was fantastically done. I normally get tired of watching violin players very easily because they seem so tragic and extreme to me but I really enjoyed this guy's style. He's very laid back in the way he performs. Not so much, the music. All of the music was still very expressive but he left out a lot of the theatrics that so many string players seem to indulge in. It made him much more enjoyable to watch.
I'm also finding that I concerts, I am becoming much more engaged. Before now, I mostly went to concerts because I felt like I should. I have a tendency to enjoy listening to pieces that I know very well or that I have performed before. And I would always take performing a concert over listening to one. However, I'm finding that I'm getting more out of listening to music now. Especially if it's live. I think I'm listening more actively. People have always told me not to listen passively but I've never really understood what they were saying and I think I'm finally starting to get it. It's extremely satisfying to me.
That's about all I have for now. Wish me luck with my foot. I am crossing my fingers that I come back to the States with the same number of limbs that I left with. Just kidding. I hope.
Peace.
Last week at some point I started noticing some numbness in a few of my toes and shooting pains when I move certain ways that shouldn't be there. They're in a totally different area of my foot than where my laceration is. I decided that that's not normal and should be checked out. So I gimp my way down to the student health center at the University of Auckland (love the free clinic), only to find out that I have missed the emergency clinic hours and have to wait until Monday. (This is on Friday.) So this morning, I head back to the health center. After my foot being looked at by a nurse, a doctor, and discussed by phone with another doctor and an orthopedist, no one has any idea what is wrong with me.
So I have to go to another doctor later this week. In the mean time, however, they don't want me to put any weight on my foot. I had two option. 1) Crutches. 2) Heel-walking, which is basically what it sounds like... Only putting weight on your heel. Unfortunately, heel-walking requires you to flex your foot, which for me causes shooting pains. I was just going to suck it up and walk but by the afternoon, I wasn't really into it. Plus, my dad convinced me that if it hurts, I probably shouldn't do that. It would be very bad if I messed up my foot long-term.
The thing that sounds like the most likely possibility is that there is a shard of glass that is still in my foot that has migrated and is now hitting a nerve, resulting in numbness and pain. I almost hope that this is the case because, if it is, then at least the way forward is clear (remove the glass). If not, we still don't know what's wrong with my foot.
For the moment, I've now had to cancel plans for the second weekend in a row. I was supposed to participate in a volunteer weekend planting trees and such. So I am not in a fantastic mood about all this. Plus the fact that I strongly dislike crutches. They suck. Anyone who's ever been on them for even a few days knows what I mean. The only advantage to the situation is that now I have an extra weekend to get my essays in order.
My assignments are creeping up on me very quickly. I'm under way with both, but another couple days of concentrated work will definitely be helpful. I spent a good deal of this past weekend researching and stuff. I got acquainted with the UoA library this weekend. It is huge. There is a plethora of resources available to students here. It's amazing. First off, tons and tons of database access. More databases than I know what to do with. Then there are the physical books, periodicals, and other resources that the library actually owns. It's extremely extensive. I think it's cool because I have discovered that if there is any type of place that I can manuever in, it is a library. It doesn't matter where I am, I can figure it out. I think I can thank Mom for that one.
I also got to go to a recital this weekend. It was a postgraduate student who I didn't know but I didn't have anything in particular to do and it was free, so I went. I was extremely happy that I did. It was a violin recital, about an hour and a half long and it was fantastically done. I normally get tired of watching violin players very easily because they seem so tragic and extreme to me but I really enjoyed this guy's style. He's very laid back in the way he performs. Not so much, the music. All of the music was still very expressive but he left out a lot of the theatrics that so many string players seem to indulge in. It made him much more enjoyable to watch.
I'm also finding that I concerts, I am becoming much more engaged. Before now, I mostly went to concerts because I felt like I should. I have a tendency to enjoy listening to pieces that I know very well or that I have performed before. And I would always take performing a concert over listening to one. However, I'm finding that I'm getting more out of listening to music now. Especially if it's live. I think I'm listening more actively. People have always told me not to listen passively but I've never really understood what they were saying and I think I'm finally starting to get it. It's extremely satisfying to me.
That's about all I have for now. Wish me luck with my foot. I am crossing my fingers that I come back to the States with the same number of limbs that I left with. Just kidding. I hope.
Peace.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Semi-Annual Trip to the ER
For those of you who don't know, I am an extremely clumsy and accident-prone person. I have had people threaten to wrap me in bubble-wrap because I am a danger to myself. I end up in the ER or an emergency clinic multiple times a year. I have been on crutches twice since I've started college. Apparantly, this rule still applies when I am in a foreign country.
Last night was possibly one of the longest nights of my life. It started out with some jovial St. Patty's Day celebration but quickly went awry. We had been hanging out in someone's apartment but around 11:00 decided it was time to hit the clubs. I was wearing a friend's shoes that didn't properly fit me and so made the poor decision to walk to the bar barefoot and put my shoes on when we got there. Bad choice. No further than 10 feet from the gate of the apartment I stepped on a nicely-sized chuck of glass and split my foot open.
So I was carried back to the apartments and bandaged up by one of the RA's. I think they kind of decided for me that I needed to go to the hospital to get stitches. So my goal of not going to the ER all semester was completely destroyed. This part of the evening was kind of confusing to me. There were a million people standing over me all talking to, at, or about me at once. I was kind of panicky because I wasn't sure how bad my foot was and I heard the word "stitches." (I have a pretty bad fear of needles.) The funniest part to me that I remember though was my friends trying to calm me down. At one point, some guy said "Wow, that's a lot of blood. It's really red." Then Lorissa (to the guy), "Shut up," to me "You're not bleeding at all." Yeah right.
Anywho... So the RA who bandaged my foot called a cab. Another funny moment... She is on the phone to the cab company and asks "How many of you are going?" Chris counts. "Um, six." "Six! You're all going?" "Yep." This is a testament to how amazing my friends are. They all came to the ER in the middle of the night. It was quite an event. We met this guy in the hospital from Canada who had a gash on his head. Don't know how he got it. We were talking to him for about two hours. He was a tad wasted and he told us a very funny version of how he proposed to his fiance. It was good to have some entertainment while we waited.
Around three in the morning, Chris, Kevin, Eric, and Amanda went home. (I had been telling them to go home for like an hour.) Lorissa and I were there until about 6:30. We got home around 7. It was a very long night. I kept getting knocked down on the list because my injury was so minor compared to others coming in. Of course, they take the more serious injuries first. This was annoying at the time but totally understandable. And after all that waiting... No stitches. They pulled out a small shard of glass, cleaned up the wound, and took an x-ray to make sure there wasn't any glass left that they missed. I'm still pretty happy that I didn't have to get stitches. (Needles bad.)
Today will probably be a horribly long day. I only ended up getting about an hour and a half of intermmitent sleep. My foot hurts. Walking is awful. It takes me forever to get anywhere because I don't want to put any pressure on my foot. But I probably shouldn't complain since it's kind of my fault. Some poor decision making. Anyway. I think I'm going to try to treat it like jet lag. Stay up today and, hopefully, sleep like a baby tonight.
There's some adventures in my world for you. Hopefully no more of these sorts of stories while I'm here. Or ever would be nice too. In the mean time, I'm becoming a pro at wrapping my foot in Glad wrap and plastic bags when I shower. That's always a marketable skill.
Peace.
Last night was possibly one of the longest nights of my life. It started out with some jovial St. Patty's Day celebration but quickly went awry. We had been hanging out in someone's apartment but around 11:00 decided it was time to hit the clubs. I was wearing a friend's shoes that didn't properly fit me and so made the poor decision to walk to the bar barefoot and put my shoes on when we got there. Bad choice. No further than 10 feet from the gate of the apartment I stepped on a nicely-sized chuck of glass and split my foot open.
So I was carried back to the apartments and bandaged up by one of the RA's. I think they kind of decided for me that I needed to go to the hospital to get stitches. So my goal of not going to the ER all semester was completely destroyed. This part of the evening was kind of confusing to me. There were a million people standing over me all talking to, at, or about me at once. I was kind of panicky because I wasn't sure how bad my foot was and I heard the word "stitches." (I have a pretty bad fear of needles.) The funniest part to me that I remember though was my friends trying to calm me down. At one point, some guy said "Wow, that's a lot of blood. It's really red." Then Lorissa (to the guy), "Shut up," to me "You're not bleeding at all." Yeah right.
Anywho... So the RA who bandaged my foot called a cab. Another funny moment... She is on the phone to the cab company and asks "How many of you are going?" Chris counts. "Um, six." "Six! You're all going?" "Yep." This is a testament to how amazing my friends are. They all came to the ER in the middle of the night. It was quite an event. We met this guy in the hospital from Canada who had a gash on his head. Don't know how he got it. We were talking to him for about two hours. He was a tad wasted and he told us a very funny version of how he proposed to his fiance. It was good to have some entertainment while we waited.
Around three in the morning, Chris, Kevin, Eric, and Amanda went home. (I had been telling them to go home for like an hour.) Lorissa and I were there until about 6:30. We got home around 7. It was a very long night. I kept getting knocked down on the list because my injury was so minor compared to others coming in. Of course, they take the more serious injuries first. This was annoying at the time but totally understandable. And after all that waiting... No stitches. They pulled out a small shard of glass, cleaned up the wound, and took an x-ray to make sure there wasn't any glass left that they missed. I'm still pretty happy that I didn't have to get stitches. (Needles bad.)
Today will probably be a horribly long day. I only ended up getting about an hour and a half of intermmitent sleep. My foot hurts. Walking is awful. It takes me forever to get anywhere because I don't want to put any pressure on my foot. But I probably shouldn't complain since it's kind of my fault. Some poor decision making. Anyway. I think I'm going to try to treat it like jet lag. Stay up today and, hopefully, sleep like a baby tonight.
There's some adventures in my world for you. Hopefully no more of these sorts of stories while I'm here. Or ever would be nice too. In the mean time, I'm becoming a pro at wrapping my foot in Glad wrap and plastic bags when I shower. That's always a marketable skill.
Peace.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Clarinet Lesson!
Yesterday afternoon was my first clarinet lesson here in New Zealand and he first that I have had for a couple of months. So it was very exciting for me. I'm taking lessons with James Fry. He plays with the Auckland Philharmonia and the NZSO. It was a very good lesson. I was super excited because he complimented me on my embouchure (sorry about the spelling). This is a huge accomplishment for me because usually the first thing a teacher says when they see me play is "We need to work on that embouchure." In January, I had a lesson with Shannon and something finally clicked about how to do it properly and I have been working my butt off to integrate that into my playing permanently, apparantly with some success. So I was very pleased with myself.
It was also great to play in a live room. The practice rooms at uni are completely dead and sometimes certain pitches make the room buzz and such. In short, they make you sound like crap. So it was kind of nice to hear myself in a good room, at least for a short period of time. It seems like the main focus of my life in clarinet-world is going to be airflow, another item that I have been trying to improve on previously. James gave me a couple exercises to help maintain constant airflow that seem like they will be very helpful, so I'm happy.
Okay, enough nerdy clarinet specifics. I'm also very excited because I get to play a recital this semester. I think it's going to be about 30 minutes of music, which is great because when I do my junior recital back at Adrian next semester, I will need 45 minutes. I think. In any case, it will be good to be working up this much repotoire. I'm playing Solo de Concours by Henri Raubaud, the Bernstein sonata, and the Brahms sonata No. 1! Yay Brahms! I love playing Brahms! I'm hoping that it will be a recital that is open to the public (as opposed to a jury-style examination) so that I can continue to work on my slight fear of audiences. Overall, I'm looking forward to clarinet-land this semester.
Peace.
It was also great to play in a live room. The practice rooms at uni are completely dead and sometimes certain pitches make the room buzz and such. In short, they make you sound like crap. So it was kind of nice to hear myself in a good room, at least for a short period of time. It seems like the main focus of my life in clarinet-world is going to be airflow, another item that I have been trying to improve on previously. James gave me a couple exercises to help maintain constant airflow that seem like they will be very helpful, so I'm happy.
Okay, enough nerdy clarinet specifics. I'm also very excited because I get to play a recital this semester. I think it's going to be about 30 minutes of music, which is great because when I do my junior recital back at Adrian next semester, I will need 45 minutes. I think. In any case, it will be good to be working up this much repotoire. I'm playing Solo de Concours by Henri Raubaud, the Bernstein sonata, and the Brahms sonata No. 1! Yay Brahms! I love playing Brahms! I'm hoping that it will be a recital that is open to the public (as opposed to a jury-style examination) so that I can continue to work on my slight fear of audiences. Overall, I'm looking forward to clarinet-land this semester.
Peace.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Last night I got to go see the NZSO perform Mahler's Symphony No. 3. It was really fantastic. It lasted almost two hours, so it was super long but it was absolutely incredible. There was this one part in the first movement, the trombone has this gigantic solo and it was awesome. At one point in the middle of the solo the entire orchestra came in full volume and he was still blowing them all away. He was louder than the entire freakin' orchestra. It was ridiculous. The whole thing was just... I can't even describe it. After it was done, the audience was clapping for about five minutes straight. I'm not exaggerating. It was so cool to be in an audience that wasn't exhausted after listening to a two-hour symphony. Everyone was just so thrilled about the performance. It was really cool.
One funny thing... In the middle of a really soft part in, I want to say, the second movement this old guy about two or three rows behind me let out this huge snore. It was hilarious. Also, not so funny, this woman behind me got really sick in the middle of the performance. We think that she might have had a stroke. They had to carry her out. There was quite a lot of attention drawn to my section of the audience. Anyway, it was amazing.
Otherwise, things here are going okay. I almost beat up a laundry machine today because it wouldn't start until I figured out that I needed to add a dollar because the price had gone up. How infuriating. $3 to wash my clothes, that's ridiculous. Also, when the fire alarm went off the other night, so did the sprinklers on a couple of the floors. They didn't in my room but I think they leaked through the walls or something because a big patch of my floor is wet. And it still has not been cleaned, like they said it would be. Dumb. That's all for now. I have my first clarinet lesson tomorrow! Yay!
Peace.
One funny thing... In the middle of a really soft part in, I want to say, the second movement this old guy about two or three rows behind me let out this huge snore. It was hilarious. Also, not so funny, this woman behind me got really sick in the middle of the performance. We think that she might have had a stroke. They had to carry her out. There was quite a lot of attention drawn to my section of the audience. Anyway, it was amazing.
Otherwise, things here are going okay. I almost beat up a laundry machine today because it wouldn't start until I figured out that I needed to add a dollar because the price had gone up. How infuriating. $3 to wash my clothes, that's ridiculous. Also, when the fire alarm went off the other night, so did the sprinklers on a couple of the floors. They didn't in my room but I think they leaked through the walls or something because a big patch of my floor is wet. And it still has not been cleaned, like they said it would be. Dumb. That's all for now. I have my first clarinet lesson tomorrow! Yay!
Peace.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
A Day in the Life
This is just a quick update. This week has been a farily average week in the life of a university student. I have been attending lectures, studying, practicing, etc. It's kind of nice to be settling in. I'm meeting more people in the music department, which is really great. They're all very friendly and don't seem at all turned off by the fact that I'm American, which I can't say for the rest of my papers. I have people to sit with in choir and to bother in the practice rooms when I'm taking a break.
The only story of note right now is an annoying event last night. Some lovely, drunken person decided to pull one of the fire alarms in my apartment building. So I was awoken at 3 in the morning by a loud beeping (almost like an alarm clock) and a voice that announced something about this being an alarm and please stand by for further instructions. In my usual calm, collected manner that I always maintain when woken up in the middle of the night by something loud, I fell out of bed and stumbled/ran into the hallway of my apartment where my roommates were slowly emerging. It was crazy. The worst part of it all was that no one was sure what to do. The voice was telling us to wait but there were not one but four firetrucks sitting outside the building. Eventually we saw people leaving and decided to also evacuate. There were sprinklers going off and everything. One of the elevators looked like a waterfall, not kidding.
The part that I find most amusing about the experience is the difference in how the girls react versus how the guys react. The guys put on a sweatshirt over whatever they were sleeping in and maybe shoes, if they think of it. So half the guys were in nothing but boxers and sweatshirts. The girls on the other hand, pack. A lot of the girls had backpacks with their laptops, passports, other important documents, etc. All the girls were wearing shoes and jackets and some were fully dressed. I myself had my clarinet, my laptop, and passport. I told myself a long time ago that if I was in a fire and had time to grab something, it would be my clarinet. So I followed through. The contrast was funny to me.
Anywho... I must be off but I thought I'd share that little story with you.
Peace.
The only story of note right now is an annoying event last night. Some lovely, drunken person decided to pull one of the fire alarms in my apartment building. So I was awoken at 3 in the morning by a loud beeping (almost like an alarm clock) and a voice that announced something about this being an alarm and please stand by for further instructions. In my usual calm, collected manner that I always maintain when woken up in the middle of the night by something loud, I fell out of bed and stumbled/ran into the hallway of my apartment where my roommates were slowly emerging. It was crazy. The worst part of it all was that no one was sure what to do. The voice was telling us to wait but there were not one but four firetrucks sitting outside the building. Eventually we saw people leaving and decided to also evacuate. There were sprinklers going off and everything. One of the elevators looked like a waterfall, not kidding.
The part that I find most amusing about the experience is the difference in how the girls react versus how the guys react. The guys put on a sweatshirt over whatever they were sleeping in and maybe shoes, if they think of it. So half the guys were in nothing but boxers and sweatshirts. The girls on the other hand, pack. A lot of the girls had backpacks with their laptops, passports, other important documents, etc. All the girls were wearing shoes and jackets and some were fully dressed. I myself had my clarinet, my laptop, and passport. I told myself a long time ago that if I was in a fire and had time to grab something, it would be my clarinet. So I followed through. The contrast was funny to me.
Anywho... I must be off but I thought I'd share that little story with you.
Peace.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Coromandel
I spent this weekend in Coromandel, which is a small peninsula east of Auckland. I didn't think I was going to be able to go because I had a late class of Friday evening and I wouldn't be able to catch up with my friends who went on the ferry at 6:00 on Friday. However, I was awoken by a text at around 7:45 on Saturday morning saying that they figured out a way for me to meet them. So I quickly packed my things and practically ran to the ferry station to get on the ferry that left at 9:00. It was pretty hectic. But the weekend was worth it.
It was a two-hour ferry to Coromandel Town, where I met up with the rest of the group, then an hour by bus to the other side of the peninsula where all the interesting things are. First, we went to Hahei, which has beautiful beaches. We played in the waves, which were really big even only about 15 or so metres out and Eric and Chris went spear fishing. They actually caught a decent sized fish too. On our way out, we passed a couple getting married. It was a very beautiful place for a wedding but I can't imagine what it must have been like to get everyone out there.
We then proceeded to hike about an hour and a half to Cathedral Cove. It was pretty steep but had some of the most gorgeous views. Every corner that you turn looks like a postcard. It was fabulous. The cove itself was also beautiful. I assume it gets its name from a huge archway carved in one of the cliffs. It is actually where they filmed the beginning of the second Narnia movie. If you remember, when the kids go through the warphole from England to Narnia, the archway that I'm talking about is where they are. It was so cool. It felt really nifty to be in the place where a movie was filmed. I always think that kind of stuff is really nifty.
We were all very sore and hungry by the time we got back to Whitianga, where we were staying for the night. We dropped our stuff at the hostel and then went to scavage for food. We found this little Chinese take-out place. I really enjoyed it, probably because I was starving (all I'd had the rest of the day was an apple and a PB&J) and because it's been a while since I've had Chinese food, which I love. That night we hung out at the hostel. I had an interesting experience with a drink called Scrumpy. It's a hard cider. Turns out it is very, very hard. Anywho... No details about that necessary.
The next day, we headed out to the Hot Water Beaches. They turned out to be kind of a letdown, but it was still interesting. Basically, what it is... You have to go within two hours on either side of high tide. You dig a hole in the sand in these certain spots and they fill up with hot water. You kind of have to figure out where they are, the ground is usually kind of warm. The hot spots were absolutely boiling. You kind of had to keep jumping in and out because they were so hot. Every five minutes or so, you'd get a big enough wave that would come and wash through your hard work and make you very cold very suddenly.
The waves at this beach were absolutely insane. It is rated on of the four most dangerous beaches in New Zealand and I could definitely see why. I'm sure the rip tides are nuts. They tell you not to go swimming, but a lot of people do anyway. I heard a figure that they have to rescue several hundred people per year who got pulled out by rip tides. It was kind of interesting, it looked like they had a training program to be a lifeguard at this beach going on while we were there. It seemed like you have to start learning from a really young age. There were some kids around 10 doing exercises on the ground or in shallow pools on the beaches. I was kind of cool. The older ones were actually in the ocean. I think they were learning how to dive through the waves to get to people who are really far out. I would be terrified to guard there. I cannot imagine, first off, having to get out to the person, avoiding rip tides and such and then having to pull them to shore through all the waves and stuff. That would be unbelieveably hard. I think I will stick to my nice little pool where I can easily see everyone.
After all that, we hung out in Whitianga for a bit. We checked out some of the shops in town and such. There were some really nice stores. Not that I could afford to buy anything at that point. Money goes fast when you're travelling. Then it was time to head back to the ferry back to Auckland. The ride back was not quite as nice as the ride there. It was a bit choppier. We started out inside stretched out on the seats for a nap but I ended up spending a good deal of the trip standing outside at the back of the boat, trying not to get seasick.
Over all it was a great weekend. We're all completely exhausted. It's a bummer having to come back and go to classes and study and such. The school part of my study abroad program is really messing up my travelling. Just kidding. Anywho... Off to bed for another day at university tomorrow. Pictures of the weekend to come soon.
Peace.
It was a two-hour ferry to Coromandel Town, where I met up with the rest of the group, then an hour by bus to the other side of the peninsula where all the interesting things are. First, we went to Hahei, which has beautiful beaches. We played in the waves, which were really big even only about 15 or so metres out and Eric and Chris went spear fishing. They actually caught a decent sized fish too. On our way out, we passed a couple getting married. It was a very beautiful place for a wedding but I can't imagine what it must have been like to get everyone out there.
We then proceeded to hike about an hour and a half to Cathedral Cove. It was pretty steep but had some of the most gorgeous views. Every corner that you turn looks like a postcard. It was fabulous. The cove itself was also beautiful. I assume it gets its name from a huge archway carved in one of the cliffs. It is actually where they filmed the beginning of the second Narnia movie. If you remember, when the kids go through the warphole from England to Narnia, the archway that I'm talking about is where they are. It was so cool. It felt really nifty to be in the place where a movie was filmed. I always think that kind of stuff is really nifty.
We were all very sore and hungry by the time we got back to Whitianga, where we were staying for the night. We dropped our stuff at the hostel and then went to scavage for food. We found this little Chinese take-out place. I really enjoyed it, probably because I was starving (all I'd had the rest of the day was an apple and a PB&J) and because it's been a while since I've had Chinese food, which I love. That night we hung out at the hostel. I had an interesting experience with a drink called Scrumpy. It's a hard cider. Turns out it is very, very hard. Anywho... No details about that necessary.
The next day, we headed out to the Hot Water Beaches. They turned out to be kind of a letdown, but it was still interesting. Basically, what it is... You have to go within two hours on either side of high tide. You dig a hole in the sand in these certain spots and they fill up with hot water. You kind of have to figure out where they are, the ground is usually kind of warm. The hot spots were absolutely boiling. You kind of had to keep jumping in and out because they were so hot. Every five minutes or so, you'd get a big enough wave that would come and wash through your hard work and make you very cold very suddenly.
The waves at this beach were absolutely insane. It is rated on of the four most dangerous beaches in New Zealand and I could definitely see why. I'm sure the rip tides are nuts. They tell you not to go swimming, but a lot of people do anyway. I heard a figure that they have to rescue several hundred people per year who got pulled out by rip tides. It was kind of interesting, it looked like they had a training program to be a lifeguard at this beach going on while we were there. It seemed like you have to start learning from a really young age. There were some kids around 10 doing exercises on the ground or in shallow pools on the beaches. I was kind of cool. The older ones were actually in the ocean. I think they were learning how to dive through the waves to get to people who are really far out. I would be terrified to guard there. I cannot imagine, first off, having to get out to the person, avoiding rip tides and such and then having to pull them to shore through all the waves and stuff. That would be unbelieveably hard. I think I will stick to my nice little pool where I can easily see everyone.
After all that, we hung out in Whitianga for a bit. We checked out some of the shops in town and such. There were some really nice stores. Not that I could afford to buy anything at that point. Money goes fast when you're travelling. Then it was time to head back to the ferry back to Auckland. The ride back was not quite as nice as the ride there. It was a bit choppier. We started out inside stretched out on the seats for a nap but I ended up spending a good deal of the trip standing outside at the back of the boat, trying not to get seasick.
Over all it was a great weekend. We're all completely exhausted. It's a bummer having to come back and go to classes and study and such. The school part of my study abroad program is really messing up my travelling. Just kidding. Anywho... Off to bed for another day at university tomorrow. Pictures of the weekend to come soon.
Peace.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
My Address
I forgot to mention... If for some reason anyone wants to send me something, my address is:
Pam Wilkinson
3A/2
8 Mount Street
Auckland 1010
New Zealand
So yeah. Just in case. But I don't recommend trying to send me any food it will probably never get through customs. They're really strict about food stuffs. Yay!
Peace.
Pam Wilkinson
3A/2
8 Mount Street
Auckland 1010
New Zealand
So yeah. Just in case. But I don't recommend trying to send me any food it will probably never get through customs. They're really strict about food stuffs. Yay!
Peace.
Another University Day
Today was my second successful day at university. It began with an early trip to the gym. I just thought I'd mention this because I was very proud that I actually got out of bed to go workout before my first lecture instead of later in the day. This would not normally happen.
After that was my one and only class of the day, Management 101. I knew that it was going to be a big lecture but it was much larger than I ever expected. I thought my largest lecture here might be a few hundred people. Not even close. There were 1200 people in that lecture. That's all of Adrian. Huge. Gigantic. Gihugic, if you will. (That is pronounced ji-huge-ic, in Pam's lingo dictionary. It's a combo gigantic and huge, if you're still having trouble catching on. It makes much more sense when I'm saying it instead of trying to make up a spelling.) It seems like it will be an okay class. It's still a basic management class. But the lecturer is really cool and very funny. At one point in class today, we did the wave for some reason. I actually don't think there was any purpose, I think it was just for fun. It's kind of cool though because even though there are 1200 people in that room, she still managed to make things kind of interactive instead of just talking at us. But it's going to take me a bit to get used to that big of a class.
This afternoon, I went to the music building to practice. Today was a much better day for me. There weren't a million people sitting outside my door for one. But the better thing was that I met a clarinetist! Her name is Natalie and she is a third year. She's very nice and seemed really interested in meeting me as opposed to obligation introductions that some people do. We talked for nearly half an hour. It was really great. It made me feel a bit less nervous about the reed studio here. She also introduced me to another clarinetist in the department named Stevon, I think. It was hard to hear his name because of her accent and he himself was very quiet so it was difficult to make out much that he said. But he seemed nice too. I happily noted that we were all hanging around, practicing barefoot. Natalie mentioned maybe getting a clarinet quartet together for fun. So that would be great. I was so excited to meet them. That was definitely the high point in my day. I'm really excited to get more involved in the music department.
Later in the day was food shopping. I have been putting it off for a couple days because I have been needing to do recipe research. I have a couple of ideas of things to make besides pasta now, so hopefully that will work out. So anyway, I adventured over to foodtown. I was kind of bummed because on the way there, I waited for the free bus for about 20 minutes and when it got there, it was so full of people that the only place to stand was by the bus driver and it is illegal to stand there. So I got kicked off the bus and had to walk my butt 30 minutes to foodtown. Sigh. But I got a ride back on the bus, which is the important leg of the trip. No one wants to walk far with heavy groceries. I was disappointed because I was unable to find any tofu but thoroughly excited about finally find the veggie burgers and not dogs. So I have a bit higher protein intake now. I'm hoping that I bought enough food to last me for a while because I don't feel like going food shopping for a long time. Turns out that I don't like it that much. Which is strange, because I really like food.
When I got back, me and some friends were coerced into going to the apartment welcome meeting, which turned out to be a total freshman orientation event. How to adjust to dorm life and so forth... We ducked out about half way through. We then proceeded to come back to the apartments and plan our second attempt to visit Coromandel. We are going to try to go this weekend. One of my roommates was a bit surprised to come home and find us setting up a tent in the living room. Chris and Eric and possibly Amanda or Lorissa will be camping. I will be staying at a hostel with some others, so that I will have a bed, because for some reason when I hit 18 I lost the ability to sleep on the ground. So take two will hopefully be happening this weekend. Yay. I might have to go on a later ferry than everyone else though because I have a class in the middle of when the ideal ferry leaves. That's okay. It will work out.
I hope these posts aren't getting exceedingly boring. If they are, well, then, I guess you don't have to read it do you? I'm trying to write everyday because otherwise I forget details and I want to remember as much stuff about this trip as possible. Anywho... Still trying to figure out how to post pictures.
Peace.
After that was my one and only class of the day, Management 101. I knew that it was going to be a big lecture but it was much larger than I ever expected. I thought my largest lecture here might be a few hundred people. Not even close. There were 1200 people in that lecture. That's all of Adrian. Huge. Gigantic. Gihugic, if you will. (That is pronounced ji-huge-ic, in Pam's lingo dictionary. It's a combo gigantic and huge, if you're still having trouble catching on. It makes much more sense when I'm saying it instead of trying to make up a spelling.) It seems like it will be an okay class. It's still a basic management class. But the lecturer is really cool and very funny. At one point in class today, we did the wave for some reason. I actually don't think there was any purpose, I think it was just for fun. It's kind of cool though because even though there are 1200 people in that room, she still managed to make things kind of interactive instead of just talking at us. But it's going to take me a bit to get used to that big of a class.
This afternoon, I went to the music building to practice. Today was a much better day for me. There weren't a million people sitting outside my door for one. But the better thing was that I met a clarinetist! Her name is Natalie and she is a third year. She's very nice and seemed really interested in meeting me as opposed to obligation introductions that some people do. We talked for nearly half an hour. It was really great. It made me feel a bit less nervous about the reed studio here. She also introduced me to another clarinetist in the department named Stevon, I think. It was hard to hear his name because of her accent and he himself was very quiet so it was difficult to make out much that he said. But he seemed nice too. I happily noted that we were all hanging around, practicing barefoot. Natalie mentioned maybe getting a clarinet quartet together for fun. So that would be great. I was so excited to meet them. That was definitely the high point in my day. I'm really excited to get more involved in the music department.
Later in the day was food shopping. I have been putting it off for a couple days because I have been needing to do recipe research. I have a couple of ideas of things to make besides pasta now, so hopefully that will work out. So anyway, I adventured over to foodtown. I was kind of bummed because on the way there, I waited for the free bus for about 20 minutes and when it got there, it was so full of people that the only place to stand was by the bus driver and it is illegal to stand there. So I got kicked off the bus and had to walk my butt 30 minutes to foodtown. Sigh. But I got a ride back on the bus, which is the important leg of the trip. No one wants to walk far with heavy groceries. I was disappointed because I was unable to find any tofu but thoroughly excited about finally find the veggie burgers and not dogs. So I have a bit higher protein intake now. I'm hoping that I bought enough food to last me for a while because I don't feel like going food shopping for a long time. Turns out that I don't like it that much. Which is strange, because I really like food.
When I got back, me and some friends were coerced into going to the apartment welcome meeting, which turned out to be a total freshman orientation event. How to adjust to dorm life and so forth... We ducked out about half way through. We then proceeded to come back to the apartments and plan our second attempt to visit Coromandel. We are going to try to go this weekend. One of my roommates was a bit surprised to come home and find us setting up a tent in the living room. Chris and Eric and possibly Amanda or Lorissa will be camping. I will be staying at a hostel with some others, so that I will have a bed, because for some reason when I hit 18 I lost the ability to sleep on the ground. So take two will hopefully be happening this weekend. Yay. I might have to go on a later ferry than everyone else though because I have a class in the middle of when the ideal ferry leaves. That's okay. It will work out.
I hope these posts aren't getting exceedingly boring. If they are, well, then, I guess you don't have to read it do you? I'm trying to write everyday because otherwise I forget details and I want to remember as much stuff about this trip as possible. Anywho... Still trying to figure out how to post pictures.
Peace.
Monday, March 2, 2009
First Day of School
Today was my very first day of classes. I actually only had two classes, which was very weird for me. It started with Communication in a Multicultural Society, which turned out to be pretty much what it sounds like. The professor is very laid back, which I like. It is pretty cool because the class is very much international. There's no majority of people from any place, including New Zealand. I was one of two Americans in the class, which I like. I think there are about 100 people in it, so it is the biggest lecture that I've ever had but still probably one of the smallest lectures on campus. I'm kind of hoping that this class will help me deal with situations where I'm not quite sure about everything. It's technically a business class but it's really seems like it's more just a general cultural understanding/communication course where they're using the business setting to explain and elaborate on the concepts. So I'm hoping it will be pretty interesting.
Immediately afterward was choir. Everything in the music department so far is incredibly intimidating. Being in choir reminded me that I actually have no idea how to sing. I mean, I've been in choir and I sing for fun all the time but I've never taken voice lessons or learned very much about the technicalities of singing. They kept talking about all sorts of things like "length the back of your neck without looking down." How do you do that? What does that mean? And how do you lift your soft pallate? So choir will actually be a bit of a challenge for me this semster.
Also, I went to practice after choir. Scary. There are only 20 practice rooms for over 300 music majors and they're only open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Meaning that the building is always very busy. I was fortunate enough to get a practice room almost as soon as I got there but then I could barely concentrate. There was a group of students (I'm assuming they were at least second-years because they all seemed to know what they were doing) who were sitting right outside my door almost the entire time I was there. It was making me so nervous. I hate feeling like someone is listening to me practice. I feel like every mistake I make is being judged but that's what practicing is for, making the mistakes and then fixing them. Then add onto that that every musician that I have heard here is extremely talented. I feel like a crummy excuse for a musician next to them. So I was very uncomfortable. But I'm hoping this kind of pressure will help me. I tend to improve quickly when I feel like I'm behind the curve because I want to catch up to everyone else's standard, so I work a lot harder.
After that, the day was pretty straight forward. I went to the bookstore to get my first couple books so that I could start my comm reading like a good little student, which I did. I like having a schedule again and having a purpose. I've been having fun for the past week or so but I've also kind of been feeling like a bum. It's nice to be doing something productive on a more regular basis. Anywho... Management tomorrow and that is all. Yay.
Peace.
Immediately afterward was choir. Everything in the music department so far is incredibly intimidating. Being in choir reminded me that I actually have no idea how to sing. I mean, I've been in choir and I sing for fun all the time but I've never taken voice lessons or learned very much about the technicalities of singing. They kept talking about all sorts of things like "length the back of your neck without looking down." How do you do that? What does that mean? And how do you lift your soft pallate? So choir will actually be a bit of a challenge for me this semster.
Also, I went to practice after choir. Scary. There are only 20 practice rooms for over 300 music majors and they're only open from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Meaning that the building is always very busy. I was fortunate enough to get a practice room almost as soon as I got there but then I could barely concentrate. There was a group of students (I'm assuming they were at least second-years because they all seemed to know what they were doing) who were sitting right outside my door almost the entire time I was there. It was making me so nervous. I hate feeling like someone is listening to me practice. I feel like every mistake I make is being judged but that's what practicing is for, making the mistakes and then fixing them. Then add onto that that every musician that I have heard here is extremely talented. I feel like a crummy excuse for a musician next to them. So I was very uncomfortable. But I'm hoping this kind of pressure will help me. I tend to improve quickly when I feel like I'm behind the curve because I want to catch up to everyone else's standard, so I work a lot harder.
After that, the day was pretty straight forward. I went to the bookstore to get my first couple books so that I could start my comm reading like a good little student, which I did. I like having a schedule again and having a purpose. I've been having fun for the past week or so but I've also kind of been feeling like a bum. It's nice to be doing something productive on a more regular basis. Anywho... Management tomorrow and that is all. Yay.
Peace.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
The Weekend
This weekend was pretty relaxing, which is good, considering that we all have to start class tomorrow. Yesterday we hardly did anything at all. It was rainy and windy out so we didn't want to do much of anything but we all felt like lazy bums. We spent the afternoon watching Slumdog Millionaire and the evening watching the end of the Fellowship of the Ring. I also purchased some of the greatest cookies ever. They are called Tim Tam's. I have decided that for my birthday, all I want is for people to order those cookies for me online so that there will be a bunch of them when I get back to the States. They are the most delicious thing ever.
By nighttime, the weather had cleared up. I was talked into going out to a bar. We went down to the harbour without any idea really of where we wanted to go. We ended up in a bar called Fox's. I don't know what it was but I could not get a drink for the life of me. I was waiting at the bar for 20 minutes. The bartender was pretty much blatantly ignoring me. I don't know if he thought that it was legit for him to serve the hotter girls first or what but it was not fun. Eventually Eric came over and helped me out and I proceeded to get both the most expensive and weakest rum and coke I have ever had in my life. I was a bit grumpy. Once I got over to where the others were, things got a bit more fun. There was a Kiwi there with a bunch of friends. We were under the impression that he was at his bachelor party because he was wearing a ball and chain but he kept denying that he knew any of the people he was with. He was pretty funny though. At one point he tried to make a break for it by crawling under the table. He was quickly caught and retrieved.
Today was a better day. I got to talk to Jordan on Skype! Yay! In the afternoon we went to Mission Bay. We decided that the easiest option for us to get there would be to walk because we couldn't figure out exactly how the bus schedule runs. It turns out that we misunderestimated the distance a bit. It took us an hour and 45 minutes to get from our apartment to the beach (including a quick stop for ice cream). I have a lovely backpack sunburn from the walk. It was nice though. Most of the way was along the ocean and under this walkway with trees around it. The beach was fun when we finally got there. The water was the perfect temperature. We went pretty far out and it never got more than waist deep. There were a bunch of live sand dollars and starfish in the sand. It was pretty cool. We had a good time taking pictures in the water with Shannon's waterproof camera. We also decided to battle each other by playing chicken. Eric and I lost tragically. I was afraid that I almost broke the poor guy's neck when we fell. Ahh well. We will defeat them next time. Sadly, we only got to stay on the beach for about and hour and then got kicked off for the local jazz and blues festival. We took the bus back.
After dinner we watched Zach and Miri Make a Porno, which turned out to be a horrible movie. We all agreed that it made us feel dumber but it put us in a jovial mood, which is good.
Tomorrow, first day of classes. Exciting.
Peace.
By nighttime, the weather had cleared up. I was talked into going out to a bar. We went down to the harbour without any idea really of where we wanted to go. We ended up in a bar called Fox's. I don't know what it was but I could not get a drink for the life of me. I was waiting at the bar for 20 minutes. The bartender was pretty much blatantly ignoring me. I don't know if he thought that it was legit for him to serve the hotter girls first or what but it was not fun. Eventually Eric came over and helped me out and I proceeded to get both the most expensive and weakest rum and coke I have ever had in my life. I was a bit grumpy. Once I got over to where the others were, things got a bit more fun. There was a Kiwi there with a bunch of friends. We were under the impression that he was at his bachelor party because he was wearing a ball and chain but he kept denying that he knew any of the people he was with. He was pretty funny though. At one point he tried to make a break for it by crawling under the table. He was quickly caught and retrieved.
Today was a better day. I got to talk to Jordan on Skype! Yay! In the afternoon we went to Mission Bay. We decided that the easiest option for us to get there would be to walk because we couldn't figure out exactly how the bus schedule runs. It turns out that we misunderestimated the distance a bit. It took us an hour and 45 minutes to get from our apartment to the beach (including a quick stop for ice cream). I have a lovely backpack sunburn from the walk. It was nice though. Most of the way was along the ocean and under this walkway with trees around it. The beach was fun when we finally got there. The water was the perfect temperature. We went pretty far out and it never got more than waist deep. There were a bunch of live sand dollars and starfish in the sand. It was pretty cool. We had a good time taking pictures in the water with Shannon's waterproof camera. We also decided to battle each other by playing chicken. Eric and I lost tragically. I was afraid that I almost broke the poor guy's neck when we fell. Ahh well. We will defeat them next time. Sadly, we only got to stay on the beach for about and hour and then got kicked off for the local jazz and blues festival. We took the bus back.
After dinner we watched Zach and Miri Make a Porno, which turned out to be a horrible movie. We all agreed that it made us feel dumber but it put us in a jovial mood, which is good.
Tomorrow, first day of classes. Exciting.
Peace.
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